[Archers] Safety advice on atal-atals and crossbows

[John Atkins]

My two cents worth:

Inspecting atlatls - Look over the dart much as you would an arrow,
cracks in the shaft, dimple in the end chipped out or nonexistent This
dimple holds the tip of the atlatl in place during the throw. If badly
chipped the atlatl tip will come out with mixed results.  I would
recommend metal tips or a tip of some sort.  There is a remote
possibility that the dart could split along the grain of the wood when
it hits the target and ruin the dart.  However, atlatls will generally
put much larger holes in archery targets simply due to their size.  If
setting a range with atlatl possibilities think about this and think
about having a few darts sticking out of the target face and causing it
to fall forward possibly breaking the shafts stuck in it.

Crossbow - There are many on this list much more versed than I on
crossbows but let me add this.  Elk Ridge Archery is now making and
selling crossbow prods made much like his bows, wood with fiberglass.
He recommends unspanning the prod between shoots.  Most crossbows, once
spanned, by spanning I mean strung but not cocked, stay spanned.  As for
the individual and the hold, it seems to me that if the bolt is removed
and the crossbow is placed on the ground, prod down, that it would be
safe.  The only remote possibility of danger, and I have seen it happen
with hand bows, is that someone is not paying attention and steps on the
crossbow causing it to fire.  Of course nothing would go down range but
the idiot tap dancing on the crossbow could get a nasty snap on the
ankle.  Hey!  Maybe they deserve it!

cog

-----Original Message-----
From: archers-bounces at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
[mailto:archers-bounces at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org] On Behalf Of Garth G.
Groff
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 7:14 AM
To: Archers at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
Subject: [Archers] Safety advice on atal-atals and crossbows


Noble friends,

Here in Isenfir, I rarely see atal-atals and crossbows, though they may 
become more common here soon. Not surprisingly, I'm not really up on 
inspecting or handling them. Will marshals (or Lady Lorelei) please 
offer advice on some points about these weapons?

1. The only set of atal-atal darts I've seen around here have some with 
steel field points, and some without points missing. I would expect that

a dart should have a metal point just like an arrow, or is this 
requirement less strict for darts?

2. I presume a crossbow needs to be spanned just like drawing a hand bow

during the inspection process. I would assume that the ability to span 
the bow is judged much the way we look for a hand bow archer's ability 
to hold the bow steady at draw during inspection. So what does the 
archer do with the string after spanning? Can it be safely released?

3. The last time a crossbow was on my range, a hold was called. The 
archer removed the bolt and placed his still-spanned crossbow on the 
ground with the prod pointing downward. I asked about this, and he told 
me it was difficult to relax the string once drawn, and of course he 
can't "dry fire" it into the ground without possible harm to the 
crossbow. Is this a safe enough way to handle the bow during a hold? I 
might add that the archer has a permanent disability to one arm leaving 
him with only partial motion, which might affect his ability to relax 
the string (he is very safety conscious, and can otherwise handle the 
bow safely during spanning and shooting).

Thank you for your kind assistance,


Lord Mungo Napier, Shire of Isenfir Target Archery Marshal
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